Is that a true statement? Read Stephen Nover's latest article on the RX home page at www.theprescription.com
Charlie
Charlie
Its the information age. The internet has opened a multitude of web-sites for square or amateur bettors to get information that 5 or 6 years ago was only available to the very industrious handicapper. Guys who bet offshore are getting sharper also, they know how to shop for numbers, and reduced juice. Compare them to the stereo typed man in the street, who bets with his local, and you have a much tougher player to beat. Nover mentions some locals went down this year, for whatever reasons, I doubt is was because of sharp players. More likely under financed, or locals in cities like Philly, or Boston, where home teams covered the spread much more than usual. Just look at the posters here at the Rx. they are all sharp to some degree or they would not be here, same with other Forum/sports info sites. Its a new ballgame for the bookmakers, but one where they are still 20 cent favorites, all things considered.
wil.
wil.
I find what was written here very hard to believe. Maybe books had a worse NFL season than normal, but I don't buy that players are that much sharper. It's just a different type of game. Books just put out different kinds of numbers now to compensate for the extra information the average player knows. I think it actually works to the books' advantage because the most valuable thing in gambling is also the most dangerous. Give a player that carrot by telling him that he has a shot at winning and he'll chase it 'til he's broke.
Players are alot smarter these days, in the 60's -80's if u had inside player info u could score, now info is pated on every website + message boards
Stat's are alot easier to obtain, heck I remember getting scores off the Blum sheet
If you want info on a certain player just click and info is available
Modern Tech has become norm now
Stat's are alot easier to obtain, heck I remember getting scores off the Blum sheet
If you want info on a certain player just click and info is available
Modern Tech has become norm now
IMO - The biggest change for bookmakers since the early 90's to today is that winning is not automatic. Going back to the 50's bookmakers were a stone cinch to come up winner at years end. Today with all the overhead that is involved, plus players getting more informed, and therefore having a better chance to win, it is not auto-matic. You just don't start bookmaking and win, bookies still have the best of it, but the game has changed quite a bit in the last 10 years. Players are still their own worst enemy in a lot of cases, but enough smarter, sharper, mid-level bettors have emerged to make it a running battle to grade out winner day after day. Win 46K today, lose 32K tomorrow, etc. With hold percentages around 6%, but expenses way up, todays bookmaker has got to be sharp to survive. The days of hanging a number and letting the 11 to 10 do the work are over.IMHO.
wil.
wil.
Pinnacle has forced Rio International group and several others to become much more competitive. Rio international group was forced to lower one book to 105 to compete with them, IIS. A lot of bookmakers are bitter about the precedent that Pinnacle set, however business is business. Others have followed, and most bookmakers concede that it is now a "gambler's market".
Proliferation of the "Age of Information" coupled with technological advances have closed the gap on betting most sports for the average bettor.
This despite rule changes, nutritional advancement, and the evolution of most games with each passing decade(which causes the need for continuing education & adaptation)..yet in the end, human tendencies still have remained moderately predictable(ex: letdown spots) to the seasoned capper, despite the also-sharper adjustements in linemaking, thus still always presenting "spots" for them to pounce.
As most agree the "educated squares" have become a much larger demographic than once existed, and have made it tougher for BMs, but by the same token the sophisticated smarts will tell you it's tougher to win today than it was in the past(though they still do)..just not at the runaway clip that most once did with dime-lines in MLB, slower relay-times from region to region with Hoops & Football line changes & injuries, etc..
This despite rule changes, nutritional advancement, and the evolution of most games with each passing decade(which causes the need for continuing education & adaptation)..yet in the end, human tendencies still have remained moderately predictable(ex: letdown spots) to the seasoned capper, despite the also-sharper adjustements in linemaking, thus still always presenting "spots" for them to pounce.
As most agree the "educated squares" have become a much larger demographic than once existed, and have made it tougher for BMs, but by the same token the sophisticated smarts will tell you it's tougher to win today than it was in the past(though they still do)..just not at the runaway clip that most once did with dime-lines in MLB, slower relay-times from region to region with Hoops & Football line changes & injuries, etc..
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by drunkguy:
Just because more info is available does not mean it is used properly. Now, the info is at everyone's fingertips, but what separates the squares from the sharps is ability to pick out the important info from the tremendous amounts of "noise"<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Well said.
Just because more info is available does not mean it is used properly. Now, the info is at everyone's fingertips, but what separates the squares from the sharps is ability to pick out the important info from the tremendous amounts of "noise"<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Well said.
You guys remind me of Costner in "For Love Of The Game", when he tells himself, "clear the mechanism", but you guys are right, deciphering when stats are damn lies & what ratio other factors make-up what percentage of the pie chart for a play's deciding factors is where the seasoned have the edge.
The theory about information, and its value, is nothing new. Sharp sports bettors have relied on information for decades. What has changed is the means in which it is disseminated, and the volume available. The successful bettor has always been the one able to separate the useful, from the useless.
wil.
wil.
